AUSTRALIAN IMMIGRATION NEWS

An independent review will be conducted for the Subclass 457 visa programme as announced by the Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Senator the Hon. Michaelia Cash on 25 February 2014.

Marriage Scams found from those who are holding Australian partner visas have been chastised by Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP). As a result of detailed assessments, the department has cancelled more than 1,000 fraudulent partner visas since July 2010.

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has implemented an updated sponsorship occupation list from 24 February 2014. The ACT currently only participates in the Skilled Nominated Visa Subclass 190 and extends sponsorship to applicants living in Australia and those residing overseas, subject to meeting certain specific criteria.

The Hon Andrew Robb MP, Minister for Trade and Investment, and the Hon Scott Morrison MP, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection on 7 February 2014 announced the extension of entry visas for Chinese business visitors.

Australia has celebrated this year's Australia Day with a series of activities around the nation marking the 65th year of Australian citizenship, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, the Hon Scott Morrison announced.

The Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) launches this week a social media campaign to give detailed information for overseas students studying in the country about visa conditions and the possible impacts of changing course.

Due to its thriving economy, the Australian Government is encouraging greater cultural exchange by expanding its Working Holiday Visa (WHV) Program to a larger list of partner countries. This expansion has increased travel and employment opportunities for many and has sparked renewed interest in migration to Australia from across the globe.

The Australian government now sets the lowest processing priority for visa applications under family stream sponsored by permanent visa holders who arrived in Australia as illegal maritime arrivals (IMAs), Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) announced.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIBP) will introduce new post-study work arrangements in early 2013 for overseas graduates who hold an Australian Bachelor's, Master's or a Doctoral degree, a DIBP spokeswoman announced.

According to a report released recently by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), migrants have boosted Australia's workforce skills, with two-thirds of all working age migrants possessing academic or trade qualifications in 2010–11.

A new program focusing not only on aspects of technical training but also workplace culture, communication and job-finding skills will be provided to Australian immigrant engineers, by Navitas Workforce Solutions and Engineers Australia.

Australia's Northern Territory is now allowed to welcome overseas workers after its government reached a migration agreement with Immigration Minister Chris Bowen and the Federal government, which is considered a positive step to help fill the Territory's skill shortage.

The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Chris Bowen MP, last week announced the Government would make the visa application process easier for students from 29 countries by reducing assessment levels across a range of student visa subclasses from 24 March.

Research initiated by the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) has found that changes to the Working Holiday Visa (WHV) guidelines could boost annual GDP by up to AUD$700 million over 10 years and help fill the regional labour shortages.

The Migration Institute of Australia (MIA) has called for a future Humanitarian Program that is both "larger in size and broader in scope" in their submission to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIBP) Information Paper Australia's Humanitarian Program: 2012-13 and Beyond.

The Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIBP) has released a discussion paper which seek submissions on the issues raised in the Review of the Student Visa Assessment Level Framework Terms of Reference.

The Philippines may become a large source of nurses and skilled workers to fill the shortage of Australian workforce in the year 2012, according to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

Migration Regulations 1994 ("the Regulations") have been amended to remove the discretionary "Assurance of Support" (AoS) requirements from certain Partner visas, the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship has recently announced.

With reconstruction efforts to support Queensland after being devastated by flooding in December and January 2011, the Australian immigration Department will visit to cyclone-ravaged parts of Queensland.

According to a recent report in The Australian newspaper, the current backlog of Australian Visa applications has been widely criticized by businesses and migration employment advocates and they are calling on The Immigration Department to better allocate its resources.

A recent High Court ruling has encouraged thousands of asylum seekers who have had their Australian Visa applications rejected to appeal the decision. This has forced the Government of Australia to make changes to the appeal system.

More US citizens are moving to Australia for jobs as there is now an unemployment crisis in USA. About 7,000 US people, of whom 80 percent immigrate over the past five years, are working on Australian skilled work visas.

An online survey of over 1600 international students showed that Australia is still a preferred destination for studying despite recent immigration changes, crack-downs on educational institutes and incidents involving international students.

Recent findings from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) indicate that Australians are living longer. The percentage of the Australian population older than 65 years has increased to 13% in 2006, compares to just 4% back in 1901.

There have been a number of changes to the Victorian State Sponsorship list. The sponsorship lists are updated in order to reflect changes in the skill needs for Victorian employers whose positions they cannot fill locally.

Recent figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) indicate that a record number of the Irish population are emigrating Down Under. The report shows that emigration is at its highest in 20 years. 45,300 workers have left the country in the year to April 2008, and the majority of these have chosen Australia as their preferred location to settle down.

The immigration of health professionals could be the answer to Australia's huge gap in the medical sector. Physiotherapists, social workers, radiologists and other health professionals are urgently needed to work in Australia.

In the IT industry and considering immigration to Canada? Your timing couldn't be any better, as a report issued by a group of industry professionals estimates that over 90,000 jobs in the IT sector will become available before 2011.

In the IT industry and considering immigration to Canada? Your timing couldn't be any better, as a report issued by a group of industry professionals estimates that over 90,000 jobs in the IT sector will become available before 2011.

Latin America has opened its door to Australian students and professionals to work and holiday in Chile. The renewed arrangement for the ‘Work and Holiday’ visa will allow up to 500 visas per year for both Australia and Chile.

According to a recent media release, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Teresa Gambaro has reinforced the government’s commitment to a strong and cohesive Australia through effective integration.

Changes to the controversial subclass 457 visa were unveiled this week by new Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews. The adjustments will introduce harsh penalties for those in breach of the sponsorship conditions and reward those who adhere to the rules.

Following the ceremony swearing in the new Minister and Parliamentary Secretary on Tuesday, 30th January, The Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA) has officially changed its name to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIBP).

The Australian Government's Migration Programme has released details of the highest skill stream intake on record. These figures are illustrated in DIBP’s annual publication “Population Flows: Immigration Aspects, 2007”, which details statistics for 2005-2006.

With effect from 15 December 2005, the Department of Immigration & Multicultural & Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) has announced that the following Computer Professional Specialisations were added to the Migration Occupation in Demand List (MODL):

In order to attract skilled business migrants to New South Wales (NSW), the Government has announced that they intend to attract 350 sponsored applicants who will generate $89 million in investment, 1120 jobs and $560 million in exports.

The Australian Government has recently announced that Australia and Turkey have entered a reciprocal Work and Holiday Visa arrangement. This arrangement will enable university trained people from Australia and Turkey between 18 to 30 years of age to work and holiday in the other country for up to 12 months.

Statistics released by the Immigration Minister on 31 December 2005 show that more than 123,000 people arrived and settled in Australia during 2004-2005, reflecting a 40% increase over the past 10 year period.

According to a media release published by the Australian Goverment Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, Peter McGauran, on 7 February 2005, Australia is made up of people from more than 200 countries.

On 14 January 2005, the Minister for Immigration & Multicultural & Indigenous Affairs - Amanda Vanstone - announced that a new electronic system has been developed to help in assessing the health status of online visa applicants to Australia.

Why Australia is reforming its skilled visa programThe Department of Immigration and Border Protection commenced a review of its current skilled migration and temporary visa programmes on 19 September 2014. The review would involve key Government bodies, employers, migration agents, and the general public coming together to discuss what changes need to be made to improve Australian skilled migration. But what factors have motivated this review and what is the Australian Government hoping to achieve from this exercise.

The best way to see Australia as a touristAustralia remains one of the world’s top tourist destinations and with good reason. With near perfect all year summer like weather, colorful beaches, and some of the friendliest people on the planet it’s no wonder the Australian Bureau of Statistics released its 2014 visitor statistics reflecting an amazing interest in the land down under. The statistics revealed the following:

Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement To Take EffectOn 8 July 2014, the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (JAEPA), a landmark agreement set to strengthen ties with the second-largest export market of Australia and the third-largest economy of the whole world, was signed by the Prime Ministers Tony Abbott and Shinzo Abe. The agreement comes into effect on 15 January 2015.